NOW Broadband review

NOW Broadband no longer offers its own products to new fibre customers, instead redirecting to deals from parent company Sky. You can read our review of Sky Broadband here.

We recommend that you read the review in full however you can jump to specific sections of the review using the following links:

• NOW Broadband key features
• NOW Broadband packages
• How much does NOW Broadband cost?
• NOW Broadband extras
• Does NOW offer social broadband?
• Does NOW Broadband have a good router?
• Do I need a phone line with NOW Broadband?
• NOW Broadband customer reviews
• NOW Broadband pros and cons
• How does NOW Broadband compare with other providers?
• How to compare NOW Broadband
• Is NOW Broadband any good?

NOW Broadband key features

NOW Broadband is branded as a service that simplifies getting your home connected to the internet. This is immediately apparent from its stripped-down offering compared to bigger-name competitors – including its parent company, Sky. Customers with access to fibre connection can choose from two packages, though some customers will not be able to access the faster-advertised speed of Super Fibre.

NOW Broadband also offers a standard broadband connection for those homes still waiting for the fibre rollout to reach their area. NOW’s top advertised speed of 63Mbps is considerably slower than the fastest packages offered by many other competitors. However, it is important to remember that you may not be able to reach the advertised speed of a product just because you pay for that deal. The top speed your home can reach will depend on where you live and what broadband infrastructure you have in your area.

You can find out more about the different types of broadband by reading our article, ‘Which broadband is best?’.

Product name	Average download Speed	Minimum contract length	TV package available	Phone line required	Setup cost	Monthly cost
Brilliant Broadband	11Mbps	24	Yes	Yes	£5*	£20.00
Fab Fibre	36Mbps	24	Yes	Yes	£5*	£24.00
NOW Superfast	61Mbps	24	Yes	Yes	£5*	£24.00
NOW Full Fibre 75	75Mbps	24	Yes	No	£0	£23.00
NOW Full Fibre 100	100Mbps	24	Yes	No	£0	£25.00
NOW Full Fibre 300	300Mbps	24	Yes	No	£0	£30.00

*Includes £5 refundable advance fee for new customers if applicable

NOW Broadband packages

There are three main NOW Broadband packages covering three different download speed levels. To make sure you know what speed you need, read our article ‘What broadband speed do I need?’.

NOW Brilliant Broadband

Download speed: 11Mbps

This is a standard broadband connection that will likely only support browsing the internet, checking emails and streaming from one device at a time. Standard connections rely on the old copper wiring that make up the UK’s phoneline network. It is the least efficient way to connect your home to the internet and will only be available in homes that do not have a fibre connection.

NOW Fab Fibre

Download speed: 36Mbps

Download speeds of around 36Mbps will be enough for a lot of small households that do not frequently download large files or stream from multiple devices. If your router is far away from the data cabinet in the street that connects your home to the fibre network, you may find this is the fastest package you can access.

Some limited-time NOW Broadband deals discount Super Fibre to the same price as Fab Fibre for the first 12 months, so compare special offers to make sure you are getting the fastest speeds for your money.

NOW Superfast

Download speed: 61Mbps

A download speed of 61Mbps is around the average speed for UK households. This means that Superfast customers able to reach the average speed will be getting an internet speed fast enough for most UK homes. 63Mbps will be enough to stream from multiple devices and browse the internet at the same time, though you may find your connection slowing down if you try to download large files or connect several smart home devices.

NOW Full Fibre 75

Download speed: 75Mbps

A download speed of 75Mbps would put your home just above the average for the UK of 69.4Mbps, as calculated by Ofcom in 2023.

The price is often close to that of NOW Superfast, so it may seem like an obvious choice to pick Full Fibre 75 whatever your usage. However, NOW often runs limited time special offers and discounts, so compare to see which is cheaper at the time.

NOW Full Fibre 150

Download speed: 150Mbps

The big jump in download speed from NOW Full Fibre 75 to NOW Full Fibre 150 is due to the different technology used. Download speeds of over 100Mbps are going to be most useful for households streaming from multiple devices at once, downloading large files or making video calls. If this doesn't sound like you, it may be better to go for a slower and cheaper option, though keep in mind that slower does not always mean cheaper.

NOW Full Fibre 300

Download speed: 300Mbps

NOW Broadband offers another significant leap in download speed here, but usually only for a modest extra cost. With more than double the speed of the 150 deal, you should not expect to see your broadband speed slowing down, even with multiple users.

How much does NOW Broadband cost?

NOW Broadband is branded as a 'value' supplier to complement its parent company’s more premium product. Therefore, it should be no surprise that NOW’s standard pricing is relatively cheap. You will find that, as with all broadband providers there are limited-time deals available. Fab Fibre and Super Fibre are often discounted by as much as £10 per month.  On top of that, it charges £5 for delivery – but nothing for standard installation – and you may be able to access special deals for TV passes. NOW also offers a no-contract option, though this comes with a hefty £60 activation fee on top of the £5 delivery charge.

Product name	Average download Speed	Minimum contract length	Setup cost	Monthly cost
Brilliant Broadband	11Mbps	24	£5*	£20.00
Fab Fibre	36Mbps	24	£5*	£24.00
NOW Superfast	61Mbps	24	£5*	£24.00
NOW Full Fibre 75	75Mbps	24	£0	£23.00
NOW Full Fibre 100	100Mbps	24	£0	£25.00
NOW Full Fibre 300	300Mbps	24	£0	£30.00

*Includes £5 refundable advance fee for new customers if applicable

Did NOW Broadband prices increase in 2025?

Yes, by 6.2% on average. In-contract NOW prices also increased in July 2023 by £3.50 a month and by £3 per month in July 2024. NOW does not include price rise details in customer contracts, which means you can leave penalty-free if you're unhappy about the price change.

We explain more about how to leave your deal in our article 'How to cancel NOW TV Broadband'.

NOW Broadband extras

NOW is probably best known for its flexible TV services. This consists of streaming packages offering Sky TV channels on a daily or monthly subscription basis. Customers can buy sport, entertainment or movie ‘passes’ that can work out much cheaper than paying for the same services through Sky, BT or Virgin Media. NOW TV does not require a satellite dish or set top box, instead you stream channels through its app, which is available on smart sticks and smart TVs. As there is no box, you cannot record live TV as you can with Sky Q. With no satellite dish, you will need a fast enough broadband connection to stream shows over the internet.

NOW does not always have a bundle option available, but there may be TV pass discounts offered to broadband customers. For example, some Fab Fibre customers can get a NOW Sports Pass (essentially, all Sky Sports channels) for £20 a month for 12 months (usually £34.99 a month). This means you can often subscribe to all the Sky channels, plus broadband, for less than going direct.

NOW also offers call packages that can be added to 12-month broadband deals. The pay-as-you-call add-on does not cost extra, but you pay a charge for any calls you make. You can pay £4 a month extra for free weekend and evening calls, or anytime calls for £8 a month.

Compared to rivals such as Virgin Media, NOW Broadband is relatively cheap to cancel. This means you sign up to a 12-month deal in the knowledge that you will not need to pay for the remaining months on your contract if you have to cancel your broadband for any reason. You will have to pay some kind of fee if you cancel during your contract, but it will be less than what is charged by many competitors.

Does NOW offer social broadband?

NOW offers its £20 a month NOW Broadband Basics package to customers in receipt of Universal Credit or Pension Credit. The deal consists of NOW Fab Fibre membership and a pay-as-you-go calls package on a no contract basis, which means you can cancel at any point. There is no activation or delivery fee.

Does NOW have a good router?

NOW customers will be sent a NOW Hub 2 router, which is essentially a rebranded Sky Q Hub router. This is a significant downgrade on the router offered to new Sky customers, according to the Which? rating system. The NOW Hub 2 scored 72% (in its old Sky Q branding), far below Sky’s new router (82%) and the one offered by BT (88%).

The NOW Hub 2 should be able to cover most basic needs of a small household, according to Which?, but it might struggle for connectivity over longer distances.

Do I need a phone line with NOW Broadband?

NOW Broadband does require a phone line connection, so you will need to have one installed to use its services. If you can’t get a phone line installed for any reason, you will have to consider a different provider and a different type of broadband. We answer any phone line questions you might have in our ‘Do you need a landline for broadband?’ article.

NOW Broadband customer reviews

NOW’s Trustpilot page, listed under its former name Now TV, has a customer score of 1.3 out of 5.0. This is slightly below Sky (1.5), BT (1.6), Virgin Media (2.0) and other competitors, though some of the reviews only mention TV services and not broadband.

The positive Trustpilot reviews commend NOW’s easy installation process and consistent speeds. The negative reviews focus on poor customer service and long wait times for services to be activated.

NOW fared a little better in a recent Which? customer satisfaction survey. It finished in joint-third place out of 14 providers, well ahead of parent company Sky in 11th place. It scored an impressive four out of five stars for value for money, but only two stars for ease of contacting customer services and technical support.

NOW Broadband pros and cons

NOW Broadband pros

• Good value superfast deals
• Discounts for broadband customers on top TV streaming, including sport
• Flexible TV add-ons
• Relatively cheap to cancel
• TV package does not require a set top box

NOW Broadband cons

• Poor router compared to rivals
• You will need to buy a streaming stick, box or smart TV to watch streaming services

How does NOW Broadband compare with other providers?

NOW Broadband's recent alignment with its parent company's pricing structure means you can no longer use NOW to get a cheap version of Sky. However, if you are looking for a TV package with your internet deal, subscribing to NOW Broadband can get you access to some great discounts on the same shows and sports broadcast by Sky. NOW Broadband with a Sports Pass added on will likely be cheaper than subscribing to Sky Sports directly or through BT. However, you will have to use the NOW app, which does not offer the same services as hardware like Sky Q or Sky Glass.

Read our article on ‘Who is the best broadband provider?’ to see who we rate for TV deals, speed, reliability and more.

Is NOW Broadband any good?

NOW Broadband works well if you are a sports fan who doesn’t want to pay for premium TV services from Sky, Virgin or BT, but also doesn't want to subscribe to separate broadband and TV services. Otherwise, its reputation as a cheaper alternative to Sky Broadband seems to be fading.